Noomi Rapace boards supernatural drama ‘Lamb,’ sold by New Europe (Exclusive)

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

This doesn't look baaaaaaaaaaaaaad at all.

I'll try to go see it this week.

This movie and titles are super pun worthy, just lambs to the slaughter.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

This movie and titles are super pun worthy, just lambs to the slaughter.

Yes, I could milk a lot of jokes out of this one.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Yes, I could milk a lot of jokes out of this one.

Some people will pull the wool over their eyes to get away.

[cheez avenger]

I'm probably going to see this Saturday or Sunday.

[mwynn]

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/l...ie-review-2021

In the Icelandic pastoral thriller “Lamb,” director Valdimar Jóhannsson’s grippingly assured directorial debut that ruminates on parenthood, family and nature, Maria (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) are noticeably unhappy.

[Dubstar]

I just saw this and um, I liked it despite an ultra slow start - but with Bela Tarr as an executive producer, that suddenly made sense. The cinematography in this is GORgeous. I think a smidgen was given away too much in the trailers, but the ending elicited a 'whoah' from me.

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

I just saw this and um, I liked it despite an ultra slow start - but with Bela Tarr as an executive producer, that suddenly made sense. The cinematography in this is GORgeous. I think a smidgen was given away too much in the trailers, but the ending elicited a 'whoah' from me.

Spoil it.

[No Name]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

I just saw this and um, I liked it despite an ultra slow start - but with Bela Tarr as an executive producer, that suddenly made sense. The cinematography in this is GORgeous. I think a smidgen was given away too much in the trailers, but the ending elicited a 'whoah' from me.

I was very surprised by the film given the trailer presented it as a horror/comedy. But

[Show spoiler]by its conclusion, I found it to be more of a revenge/tragedy piece and I was not surprised by the reveal due to the film's somewhat absurd premise.

[Canada]

Lamb review by Bryan Kluger for highdefdigest.com

[Britnasty]

Originally Posted by mwynn

Spoil it.

[Show spoiler]Maria and Ingvar are a couple deep in the bouts of grief after receiving news their child they were expecting was stillborn. One day, a half human/half lamb child is born on their farm. Maria names her Ada, after their stillborn child. Maria kills the mother lamb who gave birth to Ada in order to take over as mother. Ingvar’s loser brother Peter shows up at their house and witnesses Maria kill the mother lamb and tries to blackmail Maria into having sex with him or he will tell Ada that Maria is not really her mother and that Maria killed her mother. Maria tortures Peter for this, locks him in the closet and the next day after he sobers up, He leaves realizing what he’s done.

The father of Ada, the lamb-human child, is a Satyr. He shows up at the end of the film while Ingvar and Ada are out on a walk, murders Ingvar and takes the child back with him to raise leaving Maria, now without a husband and a child.

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by Britnasty

[Show spoiler]Maria and Ingvar are a couple deep in the bouts of grief after receiving news their child they were expecting was stillborn. One day, a half human/half lamb child is born on their farm. Maria names her Ada, after their stillborn child. Maria kills the mother lamb who gave birth to Ada in order to take over as mother. Ingvar’s loser brother Peter shows up at their house and witnesses Maria kill the mother lamb and tries to blackmail Maria into having sex with him or he will tell Ada that Maria is not really her mother and that Maria killed her mother. Maria tortures Peter for this, locks him in the closet and the next day after he sobers up, He leaves realizing what he’s done.

The father of Ada, the lamb-human child, is a Satyr. He shows up at the end of the film while Ingvar and Ada are out on a walk, murders Ingvar and takes the child back with him to raise leaving Maria, now without a husband and a child.

Nuts.

[BluBonnet]

Went into the film unspoiled, wasn't very hard to see the ending coming miles away....

The problem here is not that the movie is leisurely paced, but that not much happens during the nearly 2-hour running time that couldn't have been easily told in a 30-minute TV episode.

Still, it's nice to see an Icelandic movie getting distribution in the US

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Went into the film unspoiled, wasn't very hard to see the ending coming miles away....

The problem here is not that the movie is leisurely paced, but that not much happens during the nearly 2-hour running time that couldn't have been easily told in a 30-minute TV episode.

Still, it's nice to see an Icelandic movie getting distribution in the US

Another twilight zone episode stretched to far.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by mwynn

Another twilight zone episode stretched to far.

Pretty much

[The Great Owl]

Four stars

In the aftermath of a tragedy, Maria and Ingvar, played with taciturn intensity by Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason, drift with grieving blankness through their routine existence on a remote Icelandic farm. Their lives are graced with an unexpected joy after the discovery of a mysterious newborn, whom they take in as their own. Nature, however, can be cruelly indifferent to the wishes and whims of humans.

A24 Films has given us the two greatest folk horror tales of the new millennium, by way of The Witch (2016) and Midsommar (2019). The 2021 slow burn screen story, Lamb, directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson, is an off-kilter endeavor even by the standards of this production company. In a sense, this film, which exudes an aura of coldly quiet deliberation in the vein of Ingmar Bergman or Andrei Tarkovsky as it throws us a garish narrative curveball demanding the utmost suspension of disbelief, almost comes across as a well-written parody of the two above-mentioned A24 classics.

I love the slowly escalating sense of menace that washes over Lamb like the coming of a night tide. Even without the supernatural plot elements concerning its hybrid birth monstrosity, this tale could have been a dread-laced neo-noir of the first order, thanks to the uneasy character dynamics that develop upon the arrival of Ingvar's brother, played by Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, who may or may not have once had romantic ties to Maria.

The centerpiece of this movie, the strange creature whom Maria and Ingvar name “Ada”, is an otherworldly combination of practical and digital effects that somehow blends into this otherwise austere fictional world as a testament to the muted storytelling power of Jóhannsson and his cast. I give credit to the filmmakers as well for their ability to make sheep look oddly terrifying. The abrupt conclusion closes the bewildering proceedings that come before with a beautifully nuanced sense of poetic justice.

I am still unsure of exactly how I feel about Lamb, but I am compelled to give it a glowing recommendation simply because the reaction of Ada during one pivotal scene is how I always feel whenever I see my “normal” friends and acquaintances become emotional over televised sports.

[acroyear2]

I can't top Great Owl's text above, but I just wanted to chime in with my own thoughts on this film.

This was the most sweetly bizarre parent/non-human-child pairing in a film I can remember since... Stuart Little?

I'll agree with the most prevalent criticism that the run-time is a bit longer than it needed to be. Having two attractive actors for the couple, set in an attractive countryside, made it a pleasant film to watch, particularly in the first "chapter" where events are slow to fully take shape.

I don't know how much the brother character really added to the overall story (especially after it is revealed that

[Show spoiler]he was intended, but soon redacted, his intent to kill the child. He doesn't really add too much more to the story, except cause an uneasy presence between him and his sister-in-law

). The way he was introduced had me thinking there was some Mafia element to this story for a moment.

I loved the "big reveal", which was hinted at earlier in the film, but more striking was how it was revealed. Sudden, and jarring.

There was a surprisingly good turn-out on a late Monday night showing. No one was disruptive, which I suspect the audience were mostly A24 veterans and knew the kind of story they might be in store for.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Four stars

In the aftermath of a tragedy, Maria and Ingvar, played with taciturn intensity by Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason, drift with grieving blankness through their routine existence on a remote Icelandic farm. Their lives are graced with an unexpected joy after the discovery of a mysterious newborn, whom they take in as their own. Nature, however, can be cruelly indifferent to the wishes and whims of humans.

A24 Films has given us the two greatest folk horror tales of the new millennium, by way of The Witch (2016) and Midsommar (2019). The 2021 slow burn screen story, Lamb, directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson, is an off-kilter endeavor even by the standards of this production company. In a sense, this film, which exudes an aura of coldly quiet deliberation in the vein of Ingmar Bergman or Andrei Tarkovsky as it throws us a garish narrative curveball demanding the utmost suspension of disbelief, almost comes across as a well-written parody of the two above-mentioned A24 classics.

I love the slowly escalating sense of menace that washes over Lamb like the coming of a night tide. Even without the supernatural plot elements concerning its hybrid birth monstrosity, this tale could have been a dread-laced neo-noir of the first order, thanks to the uneasy character dynamics that develop upon the arrival of Ingvar's brother, played by Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, who may or may not have once had romantic ties to Maria.

The centerpiece of this movie, the strange creature whom Maria and Ingvar name “Ada”, is an otherworldly combination of practical and digital effects that somehow blends into this otherwise austere fictional world as a testament to the muted storytelling power of Jóhannsson and his cast. I give credit to the filmmakers as well for their ability to make sheep look oddly terrifying. The abrupt conclusion closes the bewildering proceedings that come before with a beautifully nuanced sense of poetic justice.

I am still unsure of exactly how I feel about Lamb, but I am compelled to give it a glowing recommendation simply because the reaction of Ada during one pivotal scene is how I always feel whenever I see my “normal” friends and acquaintances become emotional over televised sports.

and the abruptness

[Show spoiler]as one pointed out, unveils it itself as a tragedy, how is the lamb/child supposed to live amongst the humans? - the tone is almost in the vein of the 'fantasy/horror' of 'Pan's Labyrinth' - the two main human characters don't have a happy ending

[acroyear2]

And we have our official A24 product tie-in.

Perhaps if A24 releases a 4K/Blu themselves it will sport a soft wool cover?

[Frank TJ Mackey]

Originally Posted by acroyear2

And we have our official A24 product tie-in.

Perhaps if A24 releases a 4K/Blu themselves it will sport a soft wool cover?

I have bought a bunch of A24 merchandise, not bad.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by acroyear2

And we have our official A24 product tie-in.

Perhaps if A24 releases a 4K/Blu themselves it will sport a soft wool cover?

This was the email that I got earlier today...

[Show spoiler]

No, A24. Just... No.